TC: A beacon of light for medical marijuana patients

TC: a beacon of light for medical marijuana patientsBy Bob HeflinThe Northern Express recently ran a story about a climate of fearamong area medical marijuana patients. After speaking to localauthorities, the Traverse City Compassion Club learned that medicalmarijuana is not a high police priority at this time in Grand TraverseCounty, although recent arrests do include a patient growing overtheir limits, and someone growing without patient certification.Our club recommends that patients prevent arrest by learning about thelimits of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act and the Traverse CityMedical Marijuana Ordinance.We consider ourselves lucky. Many communities in Michigan arestruggling with implementation of this new law. Some communities havechosen to take an adversarial relationship with their local medicalmarijuana community.In 2004, Traverse City was one of five cities in Michigan which passedan initiative for medical marijuana to be the lowest police priority.With this in mind, Traverse City leaders decided to take a differentapproach to the development of a local ordinance. Shortly after amoratorium was placed on new marijuana businesses, Russ Soyring, TCPlanning Director, invited a group of medical marijuana patients andcaregivers to help draft the citys new ordinance. For months,patients negotiated with city leaders to craft a document which wouldeliminate some of the ambiguity of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act,thereby reducing the risk of more patient arrests in the future, whileensuring that local medical marijuana patients would have access tosafe, quality medicine.Growing limits are set by state law but the TC Ordinance does addseveral good neighbor restrictions on growers residing in the city.The commercial zone section of the ordinance allows a patientcollective to offer a private group meeting restricted to certifiedpatients. Private patient meetings, with a security guard at the doorchecking patient certification, ensure that medical cannabis will berestricted to the local certified patient population. Patientsleaving or entering the private meeting may not possess more thantheir legal limit. No money or cannabis is left in the buildingovernight.These meetings encourage the development of a local, sustainablesupply of medicine for patients -- one not dependent on the blackmarket or the druglords in Mexico. It keeps medical cannabis out ofthe hands of kids and the public.Finally, private patient meetings reduce the incentive for others tocontinue to operate a storefront dispensary in competition to aprivate patient meeting because overhead and other expenses areincorporated into dispensary pricing. Dispensaries are typically50-75% more expensive than private patient meetings.At our last TC Compassion Club private meeting, patients offered 17different strains of high-quality cannabis, 50-75% cheaper thandispensary prices, and a greater proportion of the compensation goesto a local patient/caregiver who is then able to grow more medicine.Donations and vender fees pay to lease the club meeting space.Currently the Traverse City Compassion Club holds private patientmeetings at Crema, the downtown coffee shop at 300 Front St., onMonday and Thursday nights from 6-9 p.m. Certified patients arewelcome to attend.

Bob Heflin, a founding board member of the Michigan Medical MarijuanaAssociation and past president of theTraverse City Compassion Club, has worked professionally in criminaljustice, mental health, and addictions counseling.